NDP takes Calgary-Shaw byelection, ending decades of UCP control
Kyle Campbell's win flips a riding the UCP carried by more than 13 points in 2023, giving Naheed Nenshi's NDP its second-ever victory there.
Why it matters
The upset in a longtime Conservative stronghold signals shifting political sentiment in Calgary ahead of future provincial contests.
Naheed Nenshi's Alberta NDP declared victory Monday in the Calgary-Shaw byelection, with unofficial results showing candidate Kyle Campbell defeating United Conservative Party candidate Mike Derry by more than 500 votes, 7,461 to roughly 6,900.
Calgary-Shaw, created in 1986, has been a reliably Conservative riding, flipping to the NDP only once before, in 2015 during the wave that elected Rachel Notley's government. In the 2023 general election, the UCP won the seat with just over 56 per cent of the vote compared to the NDP's 42.7 per cent.
Nenshi called the result a message to Premier Danielle Smith's government, saying no UCP seat in Calgary can be considered safe anymore. He linked the loss to positions on separatism, relations with the United States, and investment in Alberta's cities.
Elections Alberta says the vote count remains unofficial, with a formal official count scheduled for Sept. 24.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.